Australia: Tasmanian salmon farms could face restrictions to save endangered fish

Tanya Plibersek has written to the Tasmanian government to flag she may reconsider the future of decade-old salmon farms in Macquarie Harbour due to concern about their impact on a critically endangered species. It follows scientific warnings the salmon industry is having a “catastrophic” impact on the Maugean skate, an ancient fish thought to be found only in the vast harbour on the state’s west coast. The federal threatened species scientific committee reported in September that “substantial recent evidence indicates a high risk of extinction for the species in the near future”, and recommended urgent action including reducing the amount of salmon to improve dissolved oxygen levels before summer. In the letter to the Tasmanian premier, Jeremy Rockliff, on Monday, the environment minister said evidence considered by a skate recovery team had found better regulation and monitoring of “lower salmon farming industry loads” would be an important step in protecting the species. “This ...